Hanging By A Thread
by apieceofremember
Summary: ALL27 Tsuna didn't think life could get any worse...until Reborn found him. AU! Lemon Warning


**AN: Today I come to you with a KHR fanfic!! I've been totally obsessed with it for the last few weeks. And now that I've read almost all there is to offer of 1827, 6927, R27, 5927, and ALL27…I'll be starting my own!!! This will have ALL27!!! Which includes all my fav pairings, as listed above and more….I won't tell you the end pairing, although I'm sure most of you will be able to guess. But just a warning, this will have SMUT, and LOTS OF IT. Basically it's smut with a plot…My favourite kind…= )**

**SUMMARY: Tsuna is sold to the Vongola family as a 'pet.' **

**Chapter 1**

Rain poured heavily in the night sky unto the city below. There had been a drought for months, and it had left the city parched and anxious. You could sense it in the furrowed brows and hunched shoulders of passer bys. So, along with the rain came the sense of relief. Relief for the farmers that their crops would relinquish the water to bloom into a harvest in the upcoming fall, for the poor who would soak and take the only thing that was shared equally among the people of Rome, and for the sinners whose soul was once again cleansed by the rain.

He supposed he was of the latter. After all, there were only so many people with hands as bloodied as his.

He stood out like a beacon among the rushing crowd. Walking in his own sweet pace without an umbrella while miraculously keeping his cigarette still lit despite the downpour, as others ran for cover under an old newspaper. Not to mention that he was certainly dressed differently than the people around here.

An old beggar with a limp leg, who must have noticed the sleek Armani suit and the sharp hat, hurried towards him, with open hands. "Per favore, Signor, spare some change for a dying man,"

Reborn brushed him off without a glance.

He swiftly turned into a corner towards a dimly lit alley way. Rome was a network of complex roads that usually met with dead ends, and even a native resident would have a hard time finding their way around the city. But for Reborn who had lived his whole 25 years old of existence in Italy, he knew the place like the back of his hand. Although it did help that he was a genius.

He slowed, however, when his trained ears caught a cruel mix of laughter and cries.

"Idiot! What good would the money do you anyways?!"

"Yeah give it to someone who deserves it!"

"Why would Dame Tsuna need it of all people?"

"No!"

There was another round of laughter and a pained yelp that pierced the air before a heavy thud of a body falling to the ground. Three young boys came out from a corner as they ran past him, still laughing and waving a wad of cash in their hands as they planned what to do with their newfound riches, barely noticing the tall dark figure leaning comfortably against the wall. Reborn tilted his hat backwards, as he flicked off the cigarette to the side before walking slowly, but deliberately around the corner towards a small quivering bundle of rags.

It was quite a pathetic sight to behold.

But nevertheless, Reborn walked on, purposely making his presence known by accentuating the sound of his usually silent footsteps against the pavement. Sure enough, the bundle of rags stiffened in fear and tried to make himself smaller by curling in tighter. Reborn stopped mere inches before the small figure. Reborn's eyes expertly and quickly studied the boy before him. He was not as drenched due to the safety of an overhead ledge covering him from the rain and the dirty gray rag over his head, which Reborn doubted did anything for the creeping cold as summer came to an end. A mess of auburn hair peeked from beneath the rags and he saw small, delicate fingers gripping the cloth.

If it was anyone else, they'd have mistaken him for a little girl. But the cries from earlier, although high toned, was clearly of a boy's.

Well, it didn't matter to Reborn any way.

"P..Please...Don't hurt me, anymore. I..I don't have...have any m-more mon.." a small voice croaked in broken helplessness, which managed to irritate Reborn more than sympathize with the poor boy.

Suddenly itching to go home, where heat and a warm cup of coffee awaited him, Reborn gave a light shove (which most would consider a kick) to the boy's side with a leather shoe, which enlightened a surprised yelp from him. "Get up, if you don't want to die, come with me."

Reborn, never the type to wait for anybody, turned back and headed towards where he had originally strayed from. He heard the rustle of cloth behind him, but didn't hear the footsteps that were supposed to follow quickly after. He turned sharply to face the figure that still sat in the same spot he had left him, but this time, he did not have his face buried in dirty rags. Reborn took in a small, pale face with a button nose and pink, pouty lips -

and the biggest, brightest eyes that he'd ever seen.

Yes, he'd do very well.

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For the last sixteen years of his life, Tsuna had lived a life of rotten luck. He had been the second and youngest son of a poor, farming family. But after the famine that had hit them hard several years ago, they had been forced to sell what little they had and head off to the New World, where promises of prosperity and land awaited them. But being 'No Good Tsuna,' he had been left behind. He didn't want to believe it at first. His family could never do that to him, especially his brother, Giotto, who had been the one to teach Tsuna to read and write, while the family could not afford him to attend school. Giotto had also been the one to play with him when the other children bullied and ridiculed him. And Giotto had been the one to comfort him when stormy nights became too much for the frightened little boy to handle.

So really, it was all his fault that he had missed the ship on that day.

_The docks were bustling with life and excitement. All around him people were busy and hurried in their movements. Busy saying their goodbyes, busy selling last minute getaway tickets, or busy getting away from here as soon as possible. Not that Tsuna could blame them. The countryside that he had been grown and raised in had drastically changed over the last few years as factories and new developments took over what was his hometown. Another reason why his family had been forced out. Small, independent farming was becoming a thing of the past, but it was all they knew since that mediocre patch of land they owned had been passed down from generation to generation. _

_His dad had been stubborn in his decision to stay, even after neighbours and friends moved away one by one. Most had left for the far west, across the ocean, where opportunities for a fresh start awaited them. But even Iemitsu's unfaltering will had broken under logic and the harsh reality of the world. _

_And just to survive, they had to say goodbye to the only home they had known and walk away from the crumbling house into a new future. _

_They had taken what little clothing and precious belongings they had with them, and opted to stay a night at an inn before heading off to the docks. It had been one of the worst nights that Tsuna had experienced. He hadn't slept a single wink the whole night, even with Giotto's arm tightly around him. But with his mother's barely muted sobs and his father's shushed comforting, but pained words throughout the night, Tsuna could only lie in that cramped bed with a heavy heart. He knew Giotto had been awake with him, as he lay there too still and tense to be asleep. _

_But in the morning, everything had been fine, or appeared to be. His mother was all warm smiles and easy conversation despite red puffy eyes that was the result of a long night. _

_When they had reached the docks, Tsuna had been in awe of his surroundings, having never seen so many people and action in his life. There were street vendors selling this morning's catch and young boys and girls bargained with passerbys who looked disinterested. It was an unusually warm fall season, and people were in high spirits. They crowded around street performers who danced and jumped for attention, dressed in colourful attire that were much too distracting for Tsuna's young eyes._

_"Tsuna! Hurry up or I'm going to leave you here!" Giotto's teasing voice carried through the hubbub. _

_"Ah! Coming, Giotto!" Tsuna hurried, almost tripping over the mob of feet that tapped to the music from the performance. _

_He grabbed his brother's outreached hand, which was always warm, even in the coldest of winter nights. Giotto smiled down at him and lead him gently through the crowd, while miraculously avoiding people. Sometimes, Tsuna really wondered if the two were brothers. Giotto, had been graced with his father's good looks and physique. He was past his father's shoulder, who was quite tall, at the age of eighteen, and was all lean muscles and strength. He had the same blonde hair and blue eyes that shined with playfulness, on a sharp and well defined face that had the village girls stopping by for a chat every once in awhile. Unlike Tsuna, who had taken after his mother. Not that she wasn't beautiful. But feminine features like large hazel eyes, long lashes, pouty lips, and porcelain skin on a boy? It just wasn't right to Tsuna. _

_How could one be born so perfect and the other...lacking in every way. Or that's what he thought to himself. Giotto wouldn't hear of it, making him promise to never entertain such thoughts. Not that stopped Tsuna, of course. He had lived his whole life as 'No Good Tsuna' and he doubted it would change. _

_But he didn't mind, not really. As long as Giotto was there to remind him he had some worth, Tsuna could walk on forward because Giotto, with all his talent and brains, would stop and slow down for his little brother to catch up to his place by his side. _

_Giotto laughed as Tsuna stumbled to his side, face flushed in exhaustion, "Little guy like you, I'd be surprised if someone didn't accidentally step on you,"_

_"Giotto!" Tsuna whined._

_"Come on, you two! Don't lag behind!" His father's voice, as always, boomed out from farther ahead into the crowd. Tsuna could spot the top of his father's bright blonde hair even from here. _

_When they reached their parents in line to dock the ship, Tsuna had a clear view of his mother, who had her face in his hands and her shaking shoulders indicated that she was stifling her sobs._

_"Mom? What's wrong?" Giotto asked, placing a comforting arm around her shoulders. _

_"It's nothing. She's just upset...about leaving," his father interjected hastily before turning to a wide eyed Tsuna, _"_Tsuna, be a good boy and get your mother some refreshments," before handing him a pouch full of coins that were much more than necessary just for a drink. _

_Tsuna's protest died in his lips when he saw the rare hard look in his father's eyes that left no room for argument. "O-okay, I'll go."_

_"Wait! I'll go with you, Tsuna." said Giotto, but was pulled back his father._

_"Tsuna can go on his own, you should stay with your mother." And he gave Tsuna's slight back a push that had him rushing forward and swallowed by the crowd._

_"Tsuna!" _

That had been the last time he saw his family.

Two years later, Tsuna was living the life of a beggar in the busy hubbub of Rome.

He had barely survived the first few months since that day on the pouch of gold coins that his father had handed him. Living in inns or in the damp basement of a kind person, and eating one meagre meal a day at any pub that he passed, or two, if he was lucky enough to find forgotten fruit left in the bushes. He had managed to wash once in awhile in an empty lake, but usually opted for walking in the rain.

By the time he had reached the city, he had not a penny left. And months of travelling by foot had taken its toll on his frail body and he had collapsed in the middle of the street.

But fate had been kind, and instead of being run over by a car, he had been dragged and hauled by a kind stranger away from harm's way.

That kind stranger had turned out to be Tsuna's first ever friend. His name was Lambo, as he claimed.

_"Lambo? As in lambs?" Tsuna had cracked a smile for the first time in months. _

_"Tsuna's not any better. Sounds suspisciously like Tuna, if you ask me," _

_And for the next few months, Tsuna stayed at the cramped studio with Lambo. Lambo, after hearing about his situation, had invited and convinced Tsuna to stay. Since, well, really, he had nowhere else to go. He had even gone as far as getting him a job as a paper boy, which didn't pay much, but earned him enough for three meals a day because Lambo, despite all his protests, would not accept even a cent from him, shrugging him off with a lazy, "I don't need any money. Especially from you."_

_Tsuna would've been offended, if he wasn't so grateful to him for saving his life. But his curiousity had peaked and he wondered exactly what Lambo did to make this kind of cash. He didn't go out in the day like normal people with an occupation. And when he did go out, it was always at night and they were few and far between. But Tsuna's questions remained unanswered, and always diverted with a comment on the weather or a hasty excuse to sleep. _

_But one night when Lambo had left for his monthly endeavours, he had come back home, stumbling and holding a bleeding shoulder. Tsuna, being a light sleeper, had jolted awake from the noise, and rushed to help his friend. His panicked, "What happened?!" and "Are you okay?!" were answered in silence._

_However, he never had had any experience with first aid, all his cuts and wounds had been carefully treated by his fretting mother, a memory which Tsuna tried desperately to suppress. _

_After Tsuna had clumsily disinfected and wrapped his injury, they had quietly settled into their separate sleeping spots. Lambo on his bed and Tsuna on his futon on the floor. The moonlight shining through the small window was not enough for Tsuna to see the expression on his friend's face. _

_"Lambo?" And he nearly winced in reaction. Even his small voice seemed too loud in the deafening silence of the night. Lambo didn't reply, but he had noticeably tensed, and Tsuna bravely carried on._

_"Why did you save me that day?"_

_Obviously that wasn't what Lambo had been expecting. "Huh? What do you men?"_

_"You know, when we first met. You could've just left me there. You didn't even know me. Anybody else would've just walked away." His voice trailed off before he suddenly realized how it must have sounded to the other boy. "Not that I'm not thankful! I am! I really am!" Tsuna blurted. _

_Lambo finally spoke, "I know."_

_He sighed before shuffling around restlessly, trying to get comfortable with his wounded shoulder. He sighed again and Tsuna waited for him to still. "I thought...that you kind of reminded me of someone."_

_"Oh," Tsuna replied in mild surprise, not expecting that kind of answer, "Who?"_

_"Me,"_

_Tsuna didn't reply right away, or more that he couldn't.__He didn't trust his own voice at the moment. _

_"Thank you, really, for everything." Tsuna finally whispered softly, knowing that Lambo had heard. _

_"Lambo?" He called out again, for the second time that night._

_"Hmm?" _

_"What were you doing tonight?"_

_Lambo paused before shuffling around once again to turn away from Tsuna onto his good shoulder, "Go to sleep, Tsuna."_

_It was a few weeks before his question was finally answered. It was a Sunday and neither of them had to go out, so they had chosen to stay home for the day and wasting time playing cards and chatting mindlessly. There was no warning. One moment, Lambo was one card away from a royal flush and in the next moment, a stampede of feet had raided the hallways and burst into the room. Tsuna yelped when he was suddenly grabbed roughly by the neck and something cool and hard jammed into the side of his head. He watched in horror as three police men all jumped Lambo, who shouted and struggled with all his might, but was no match for them. _

_A fifth person had entered the room. He had the same black uniform, but his multiple ribbons and badges proudly displayed on his chest, indicated he was of a different class. He ignored Tsuna and instead placed his cold gaze on his friend. "Lambo Bovino, you are under arrest for the theft of the Hope Diamond from the Milliefore Family." _

_Tsuna felt his heart drop down to his stomach. Lambo? A thief? His best friend who had rescued him from death...a diamond thief? He sat there in disbelief, forgetting that there was a gun pressed to his head and seeing only the sight of his friend fighting helplessly against three men who were twice his size. _

_"Please! You got the wrong person! Lambo would never - "_

_"If you don't want me to blow your pretty little head off, shut the hell up," the grip against his neck tightened, and Tsuna struggled to breathe. _

_The head officer did not spare a glance in his direction, "We have legitimate evidence that the perpetuator was you. You have the right to remain silent and anything you say may be held against you in court."_

_Lambo cried out, "It - it wasn't me! Why would I steal that diamond? Wh- what use would I have for it?!" _

_"You could have retrieved it for someone else and in return, be rewarded for your mission. Which you did, to a Mr. Belphegor to be exact."_

_"I-I don't know what you're talking about! How could I do that?! I'm only fifteen! I-"_

_"Yes, you're very talented for your age, I must admit. But you can tell us the details later. Unfortunately for you, your client has told and admitted to everything. Including the other past endeavours you've accomplished."_

_At this new revelation, Lambo had abruptly stopped struggling, his shoulders drooping down as if the truth was finally crashing down on him. "N-no..no..he couldn't have.." _

_The head officer narrowed his eyes at the sight of the young trembling Lambo before nodding his head to the three officers who had been restraining the panicked Lambo, who had become limp in their arms. "Take him away,"_

_They hauled the weak kneed Lambo onto his feet, who did not protest, but kept his head bowed down. _

_"Lambo!" Tsuna choked out. _

_That must have woken him from his reverie because he looked up with wild eyes that revealed desperation and regret. "Tsuna!" Taking in the sight of the gun and his friend's wide frightened eyes, he saw for the first time the dangerous position that he had placed Tsuna in. "I'm so sorry. I...Let him go! He has nothing to do with this. He doesn't know anything!"_

_The head officer gave him a cursory scan from head to toe before deeming him as safe, "Alright. You can let him go. never mentioned him anyways." _

_The hand around his neck squeezed hard before throwing him painfully onto the floor. They moved out swiftly and quickly, with Lambo in tow. "No! Wait! Lambo!" Tsuna cried out, ignoring the pain in his neck and scrambling back on his feet. "Please, don't take him! You got the wrong person!"_

_But Tsuna knew. It screamed out in the back of his mind. And the last he saw of his first and only friend was the back of his head as he was driven off._

That had been three months ago. And once again, Tsuna had ended up on the streets. He couldn't have paid for the rent with what little he earned from his job. And it wasn't long before he had been kicked out. It seemed that his infamous bad luck was coming back at full force again. He had been fired after recent incidents of breaking windows and angry clients.

As a last resort, Tsuna had been forced to turn to begging for change as he saw others in his situation do. But he wasn't all that good at it. Too meek to actually approach anybody, and when he did, they usually ignored him and shook him off impatiently.

It had been the same usually unlucky day for him. He had starved once again and been bullied into giving up his earnings again. He had been crouched on the ground in pain, wondering if it could get any worse, when luck have it, it did.

Tsuna had heard him before he had seen him. Peeking from beneath his protective blanket, he caught the sight of a shadowed figure, creeping closer and closer by the second. Tsuna only crouched closer together, despite the throb of protest from his gut, hoping that the bullies would just go away. But yet, the footsteps continued to creep forward and Tsuna helplessly begged, ""P..Please...Don't hurt me, anymore. I..I don't have...have any m-more mon.."

But it hadn't been the bullies, and Tsuna almost wished it had been. This man was much, much more worse.

The strange man had approached him and almost demanded that he follow before swiftly turning away as if he didn't really care whether Tsuna would actually follow. Tsuna looked after him, eyes wide with fear and shock. And almost as abruptly as when he had turned away from him, he had suddenly stopped, and tilted his head to meet his eyes. It was too dark to see his face clearly, but sharp, obsidian eyes stared cooly down at him under his hat, revealing nothing. When Tsuna still refused to move an inch, the eyes narrowed and a graceful hand reached down into his pocket to pull out a dark object, which Tsuna didn't recognize until he heard the cock of a gun.

"Hiiieeee!"

Which now led to Tsuna trailing behind the tall man in curious silence. He had learned his lesson after the first couple times. It seems questions only lead to being possibly shot.

They continued to walk on and Tsuna dared not to utter a single sound, unless it set the scary, armed man off. After what felt like an eternity to Tsuna and his bruised up stomach, they reached a part of the city that Tsuna recognized as a much richer part of the city, where residents were composed of the high class society. Immediately, he had felt out of place, feeling eyes on him. But the man did not slow, and Tsuna had been too scared to speak. There was something about him that seemed almost dangerous. Tsuna again cursed his own bad luck, wondering what exactly he had done to piss the gods above.

He didn't want to think about what this man with a gun would do to him. He was quite sure that he had never seen or met him in his whole life before, surely he would remember him. But there was no reason for him to threaten his life and drag him somewhere.

But fearing for his life, he dutifully followed without protest. Even as he was led to a foreign building he'd usually never dared to go near. The people in the hotel were worse than those outside. They stared openly, taking in his rags and dirt covered face like he was some sort of animal from the zoo. However, the scary man seemed to not notice or care, for that matter.

While at the same time, they stared at the man next to him in an almost fearful awe, making sure to greet him, "Ah! Welcome back, Signor Reborn!"

So that was his name, Tsuna thought, Reborn…

It was for the first time since their encounter that Tsuna resisted. He stood at the entrance of the door to the suite room, while fiddling with his fingers in nervous habit. "Ummm...I don't know why you've brought me here...but is it alright if I go back now?" He squeaked, as he watched the man remove his fedora and shrug off his wet suit.

When he turned to face him fully forward for the first time, Tsuna was struck by how good looking he was. And immediately his face flushed at his own thoughts.

"Go back to where? That dirty alleyway where you can slowly die from hypothermia so that later the rats would feast on your corpse?" the man scoffed.

"I-,"

"Don't just stand there so uselessly. Go take a shower. You're stinking up the room." With that, he threw a spare bathrobe at Tsuna, who almost fell over backwards.

But at the word, 'shower', he could hardly resist the temptation of the sound of a warm shower after such a long time. And after falling into a puddle of muddy water earlier tonight, Tsuna's skin was literally itching for one. He stuttered, "Is it really okay? I don't -"

"Do I need to repeat myself, Dame Tsuna?" his eyes narrowed with impatience.

"N..not at all!" And Tsuna rushed to the nearest door, which he hoped was the washroom, slamming the door behind him to keep something between himself and that scary glare.

And his jaw almost dropped to the ground when he saw his surroundings. His eyes were almost blinded by the brightness of the room. Huge glass mirrors stretched across one side of the wall above a marble countertop and porcelain sink. In the centre of the bathroom was a grand pearly white bathtub and the hanging from the ceiling was a gigantic chandelier.

And, oh lord, a toilet.

Not a little dug up hole in the ground. But a real to earth, toilet. Clean, white and just as shiny as the room.

Tsuna sighed in bliss as he slipped into the warm water. He couldn't remember the last time he could soak in hot water instead of plunging into an ice cold lake only to come out shrieking few seconds later. Letting his worn out and bruised body relax, Tsuna sunk deeper into the water until the water barely grazed his nose. If someone would've told him that later that day he would be taking a bath in a grand five star hotel, Tsuna would've surely choked on his own spit in disbelief. Even now, he couldn't believe it and just for the heck of it, he pinched his heated cheeks to make sure it was all real.

The young boy winced at the slight pain.

It was real. This was real. He, 'No Good' Tsuna, was actually at a five star hotel, taking a bath in what had to be the fanciest bathroom in Italy, while there was a handsome stranger with a gun waiting outside the door…

EEK! That was right! He was still out there! In his moment of meditation, Tsuna had let his guard down and completely forgotten of the dangerous situation he was in. He mentally berated himself. He still didn't know why the man had brought him here. But he couldn't be that bad, right? When he'd allowed him to take a bath in his luxurious hotel. Oh but then there was the gun. Did normal people carry guns around? Well, he certainly wasn't normal. Normal people didn't stay at this kind of hotel, normal people didn't threaten young street beggars and they certainly did not emit such an intimidating presence.

But while Tsuna was deathly afraid of the man, he couldn't find it in himself to doubt the man's intentions. Even though he had always been 'No Good' Tsuna, he'd had a knack for things like that, kind of like good intuition. And this time his intuition told him that this stranger was not a bad person.

Suddenly, the bathroom door burst open, revealing the very man Tsuna had been dwelling about, "You are taking too long,"

"Hieee! D-Don't just barge in like that!" His face flushed.

"This is my bathroom. I can do whatever I want."

"Okay! Okay! I'll come out. So please get out!"

"Hn… I thought you only looked like a girl, but I guess you act like one too,"

Tsuna gaped at him, "I-I do not look like a girl!" But even so, his arms had unconsciously moved across his chest to obscure any unnecessary view.

"You have five minutes." He casually added

And he slammed the door leaving Tsuna's panicked cry echo through the bathroom, "Eh?!"

It had taken Tsuna precisely 4 minutes and 38 seconds to rush through his bath, out of his tub, into his robe and out of the bathroom. Reborn couldn't resist a satisfied smirk as he took in the sight of a newly clean Tsuna, face flushed with heat, hair wet with droplets still clinging to pale skin and panting from the rush.

Much better, Reborn appraised. And his sharp eyes dragged the length of the young boy's frail body with anticipation.

"I was beginning to think that you've gone and drowned yourself, Dame Tsuna," Reborn drawled lazily from his seat behind his desk.

"H-how do you know my name?"

"I've mastered the skill of mind reading." Reborn answered without missing a beat.

"N-no way! You're lying," Tsuna denied, but his expression told him otherwise.

Just as he'd expected. The boy was too naïve for his own good. How had he been able to survive in this kind of world for so long? "Tell me, Dame Tsuna, do you usually follow strangers into hotel rooms without the least bit of suspicion?"

"You were the one who told me to come in the first place!"

Reborn ignored him. "Seeing as how stupid you are, I'm sure you don't have a job."

Tsuna blanched. Was this guy really a mind reader?

Reborn raised to his full height and walked slowly towards the young boy, "You were probably abandoned by your family, weren't you? And of course, you don't have any friends to support you,"

Tsuna opened his mouth to speak, but in a movement too fast for poor Tsuna to register, he found himself, a second later, lying flat on his back on the bed that had seemed much farther away before, with Reborn hovering mere centimetres away from him, and his lips too close to his own.

"Then from today on, Dame Tsuna, I own you,"

**Reviews are EXTREMELY appreciated ~ XD And I would love any constructive criticism, just don't waste your time flaming though. **


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